Calculate your equal principal payment amortization schedule by entering your Loan Amount, Interest Rate, Number of Payments, and Payment Frequency. You get back a full schedule showing each payment's principal portion, interest portion, total payment, and remaining balance — plus total interest paid over the life of the loan.
First Payment Amount
--
Last Payment Amount
--
Principal Per Payment
--
Total Interest Paid
--
Total Amount Paid
--
An equal principal payment schedule (also called a fixed principal or declining balance schedule) divides the loan principal evenly across all payment periods. Because you pay the same principal each period but interest is charged on the declining balance, your total payment amount decreases over time as less interest accrues.
Each payment equals the fixed principal portion plus the interest due for that period. The principal portion is simply the loan amount divided by the number of payments. Interest is calculated on the remaining balance at the periodic interest rate (annual rate divided by payment frequency).
A standard amortizing loan keeps the total payment amount the same throughout the loan term, with early payments being mostly interest and later payments mostly principal. An equal principal loan keeps the principal portion fixed and lets the total payment decline over time, meaning you pay less total interest overall.
In the early periods, the outstanding loan balance is at its highest, so the interest charged is greatest. Since the principal portion stays constant but interest is added on top, the first payments are the largest. As the balance falls, so does the interest component, reducing each successive payment.
Yes, generally. Because you reduce the principal balance faster with equal principal payments, you accumulate less interest over the life of the loan. This typically results in lower total interest paid compared to an equal-payment (standard) amortizing loan with the same rate and term.
Payment frequency refers to how often you make payments — weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or bimonthly. More frequent payments reduce the outstanding balance faster, which lowers the total interest paid. The periodic interest rate is calculated by dividing the annual rate by the number of periods per year.
Yes. While most mortgages in the U.S. use equal (fixed) payment amortization, some loans — particularly in commercial lending and certain international markets — use equal principal payment structures. You can use this calculator for any loan type that follows the fixed principal declining interest method.
With equal principal payments calculated correctly, the remaining balance reaches exactly zero at the final payment. Each payment retires a fixed slice of the principal, so after all payments are made, the entire loan has been repaid. Rounding differences may cause a very small adjustment in the final payment.